PETA brings on stage Bona. It is directed by Soxy Topacio and is adapted to the screen by Layetta Bucoy.

My Facebook feed is a wonderful thing. It's
like a virtual newspaper that spurts out news from everywhere and everyone. So
when one mundane morning, while browsing my rather amusing feed, I saw the
poster. Decorated director Soxy Topacio would be adapting from the big screen
to the theater stage Lino Brocka's world-acclaimed film, Bona. Wuhooo! I was so
excited that time so I promised myself that I would find the time to catch it
on stage. Last Saturday, I was able to do so with friends. Me, Ate Anna, Ate Chael,
Ate Fina and Kuya Fids trooped to PETA Phinma Theater despite the endless pour
of rain. Karen (that's the name of the typhoon) did not stop us from having fun
that night. Hahaha. So how did I find the much-talked about adaptation? Read
on!

The 1980's version of Bona was topbilled by
the young Nora Aunor and Phillip Salvador. Ms Aunor is Bona-- a devout Nazarene
follower and a young girl living a relatively good life with her parents. Her
life would take a sharp turn when she starts developing a crush with fledgling
action star, Gardo, played by Mr Salvador. Her fleeting feelings for Mr
Salvador would soon develop to infatuation that would eventually lead her to
worshipping the action star. Dictated by her blinded love for Phillip, Bona
would soon choose to live in the slums with him. She prepares his food, washes
his clothes and gives him a sponge bath. Yes, sponge bath. When Phillip brings
home a different woman every night (because he's that of a j*rk), Bona would
even have to serve them. Then one night, dahil sabe nga nila napupuno na ang
salop, Bona spills a pot of boiling water to Phillip while he's waiting for his
usual bath routine. Tapos, black out. Winner ending. Hahaha.

Deftly penned by Layetta Bucoy, Bona is now
empowered more than before. She stands on her own. While it stayed true to the
script, Mr Topacio and Ms Bucoy succeeded in bringing Bona closer to the
Filipino audience by injecting modern themes into the plot. Bona, today, is a
call center agent who sidelines as an online English tutor to Koreans and an
occassional online fortune teller. As her family's sole breadwinner, Bona pays
for her nephew's schooling and provides financial help for her
"philandering" sister. The twist happens when, during her birthday,
her gay friend and his boyfriend introduces her to an artista search ala
Starstruck and she swoons over the mala-MMK life story of one of the
contestants, Gino Sanchez (played by former Eat Bulaga Mr Pogi, Edgar Allan
Guzman- trivia yan! Hahaha). Gino's mother recently died and her dying wish is
for her son to pursue stardom, hence his entry to the reality show. Gino gets
eliminated from the show and Bona becomes his "guardian angel"--
bringing him his favorite ensaymadas, cleaning his house, preparing his daily
hot baths and eventually producing an indie film for the struggling pogi boy.
Little did she know that Gino's just using her to get anything he wants. In the
end, Bona discovers Gino's ka-chokaran and poof, the infamous boiling water
scene ensues. Classic.

On the role players

One of the best things the theater adaptation
had was its cast. Coming from her recent successes on mainstream film, Ms
Eugene Domingo comes back to her first love-- theater acting. She's the perfect
person to play the new-age Bona. She's funny, witty and her acting chops are
really impeccable. Our favorite scene was when she learned that Gino is having
an affair with fellow indie star Katrina. You could really feel how she was
betrayed because from that moment until the end the audience held their breath.
She turned her back from the crowd while Gino was babbling explanations of how
he did not really want to be an artista in the first place. Even if we don't
see her face, one could imagine the anger she felt from those revelations as
she heaved and hunched her tensed shoulders. Grabe lang. Best line was when she
cursed Gino right after she spilled the scalding hot water onto his body. Isang
malutong na TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT! Hahahaha.

Edgar Allan as Gino is also just as good.
He's effective as the user-friendly guy who keeps Bona on the wings by crooning
her with sweet words. And he's totally funny especially when he did that
tapon-ensaymada scene and the Mr Pogi moves he used to wow the crowd. Hahaha.

The supporting cast is also as good as the
show's leads. They all have their share of scenes and comic one-liners. Guys
should learn from the pamatay banat nung apartment landlord nila Gino. The way
he used the flowers and the doorknob to flirt with Bona was just cute. Hahaha.
And Bona's gay best friend was just as great-- the way he delivers his lines,
panalo talaga. Lalo na yung description ng baha at yung sakit ng nanay nya para
lang makahiram ng pera ke Bona. HAHAHAHA. Kumbaga sa volleyball, Bona's
bestfriend is the setter, he sets the mood for comedy and Bona volleys it to
the appreciative recipient, us from the audience. Tolits as Bingo, Bona's
nephew has also shown potential in drama and comedy. Oh, and we're just so
proud that a PUPian Theater student played a supporting role in the play. He's
Gino's Manager's sidekick. We haven't seen him on the show because it was the
alternate who played the role, we only learned of him while reading the play
booklet. Nonetheless, we know he did a good job portraying the role. Proud
PUPian! Hahaha. I felt that everybody did a great job bringing the characters
to life. I guess it's not because they're sharing the stage with Ms Eugene or
what but because everyone of them has this passion to mainstream theater in the
country and really place the bar higher for the arts. Chars. Hahaha. But
really, I did feel the passion and love for theater.

On the set

The props and the set was effective in
helping bring this play to life. We were really amazed by how the bathtub
worked. Pure genius. Hahaha. There's also the screen on top of the stage to aid
in laying other story elements into the play. It provided room for further
understanding on the other subplots of the story-- Bona's devotion to the
Nazarene, Gino's elimination from the show as well as the botched tapings Gino
had. The sounds were also good. The audience could really hear everything, from
the delivery of each character's lines to even the running water from the
"improvised" bathtub.

Bona 1980 vs Bona 2012

I wasn't able to watch the original Bona
before going to the theater adaptation. It could have helped in doing the
review. But really, I felt that there's no need to pit Ms Nora and Ms Eugene as
the titular leads. They're just plain different. Both the film and the play
have based their stories on the current themes prevailing in their respective
timelines. In Brocka's version, we see Bona struggling with physical violence
from Gardo and his women. We see her in a society where men rule and women
cower. Topacio's version, however, portrays a Bona who doesn't get physically
violated. The abuse is done emotionally. She's slaved by Gino's sweet gestures
and terms of endearment, hence her worship for him. Poverty in Brocka's Bona is
evidenced by the leads living in the slum areas of Manila while in the theater
adaptation, poverty is when Bona starts selling off their properties and
spending all her savings to finance Gino's quest for stardom. She even ends up
borrowing from her friend and giving up Bingo's schooling just to be able to
support Gino.

The ironies I have noted from the theater
version were mostly on Bona's principles. I felt that these are good discussion
points especially on the society's moral perspective. Bona gets mad when her
sister hooks up with her fifth boyfriend, a tricycle driver doing routes on their
street. She scolds her for not taking care of her five children and on being
blindly in love with the wrong and irresponsible man. A few more scenes and we
see Bona falling off on that same trap. She pines for Gino and is blinded by
the helpless-boy-from-the-province act he made. Her sister and her are now the
same. But then again, there's the redeeming factor-- she wakes up from her
dreary situation and realizes that everything's just a mess. So she abruptly
ends her lopsided relationship with Gino and scars him for life.

Premiere comedienne Eugene Domingo is the modern-day Bona. In 1980, the young Nora Aunor played the titular role which helped her seal her mark on the Filipino entertainment industry.

I'm glad that an old, classic film like Bona
is adapted on stage. It gives us a glimpse of how films have evolved as well as
our society as a whole. They say that films, the same with stage plays, are
reflections of the realities of our lives laced with an artistic flair. I can't
help but agree. In Spot.ph's analysis, we see a 1980 Bona who is compelled to
follow the dictates of her family and the unreasonable whims from Gardo. She's
blinded by love and the innocence of her youth. She comes of age when in the
end she realizes her worth. Today, we saw how Bona transformed into a more
empowered Filipina. She's independent and she's more mature compared to the
young Nora Aunor. She injects humor onto every dire episode of her life-- a characteristic
we have seen from a lot of women today. We see her resilience and her strength.
We still see her more vulnerable side when she falls prey to Gino's flirtatious
words and reassuring kisses, but, like the 1980 Bona, her character comes full
circle when she bravely turned her back from the emotional slavery she's on.
Our women today are like that, I would like to believe. I'm not saying that
women before are weak or whatever, but really, I believe that we've learned a
lot from the past and we're beginning to move from a male-dominated society to
something more egalitarian; and Bona 2012 has just shown us that.